garlic Archives - Sugar et al

Roasted Garlic-Maple-Mustard Pumpkin

25|10|2015

When planning meals in the last few years, I realize that my attention to side dishes have gone from little to none. I am mostly trying to include my 5 serves of vegetables and fruits in my main dishes. Most of the times, that would be a salad. My mind is somewhat distracted in thinking of sweet combinations and hence between main course and dessert, there is very little room for appetizers and side dishes. Yes, in a past life (before kids), my meals were perfect, my planning was immaculate but today my imagination is restricted to kids lunchboxes and desserts. I am on a mission lately to look for side dishes that are big on flavour, nutritious and most importantly, require little or no effort. Roasted vegetables is one of them. I like the way pumpkin gets a golden and charred appearance on the outside while the inside is all soft and mushy.

The glaze is a quick and simple maple-mustard glaze. Garlic is always great on roasted vegetables. Onions pump in more flavour and taste great themselves when charred. Since, there is hardly any chopping/cubing required…I find that this is becoming a go-to dish for me on weekdays. I usually buy butternut pumpkin as it’s quite versatile to cook with but I am pretty sure that the recipe can be adapted to use other types of pumpkin as well. This dish is a great option for people on a gluten free diet.

Roasted Garlic-Maple-Mustard Pumpkin
Serves 3

1/2 butternut squash
1 red onion, peeled, quartered
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp oilve oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
salt and pepper, to season
Micro-parsley (or finely chopped parsley), to serve
Edible Nasturtium flowers (optional)

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C (160 degrees C for fan forced). Scoop out and discard the seeds from the butternut pumpkin. Slice them into 1 inch pieces (leave skin on).

In a large roasting pan, arrange the pumpkin slices and onions in a single layer. Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the pumpkin. Combine olive oil, maple syrup and mustard in a bowl and add to the pan. Season. Toss to coat evenly.

Bake for 40-50 minutes or until pumpkin is tender. Plate and stir through micro-parsley (or finely chopped parsley) just before serving. Garnish with edible flowers, if using.

Tomato Garlic Prawn Risotto

23|02|2014

On my blog birthday, I was excited like a child. I wanted to do all things blog. Fortunately, the kids were at the day care so there wasn’t much coming in the way. Having the day to myself, I created and photographed 4 recipes. The caramelised white chocolate cheesecake was already sitting in the refrigerator. I wanted to cut the cake on the same day so picture taking was left till the last minute. Since, I wanted the berries to be as fresh as possible I had to pick them up on the same day too. With boxes of strawberries, raspberries and blackberries at hand and not wanting to waste them (Not using precious berries for recipes especially photography has been considered ‘wasting’ at our place since the time this blog came into being) I wanted to make a few desserts.

By lunch time, there were bowls of batter everywhere. Baking trays kept going in and coming out of the oven. My clothes had stains of cocoa and meringue. There were sweet things in excess and no lunch. I have no shame in admitting that had it been me alone I would be happy to lunch on cake batters and dessert. But since it was a question of feeding others…that too parents-in-law, I knew I had to switch gears to savory.

Like most times, lunch came out of tins and cans. Some pasta sauce, Arborio rice, frozen prawns, a splatter of parmesan, fresh herbs from the garden and lunch was on the table. Risotto is made frequently at our place. We are rice lovers so I stock up on all kinds of rice. Since risotto can be easily turned into warm and filling one pot meals, I can cook up one at a short notice.

I have used frozen prawns on account of convenience. Fresh is always a great option. I usually prefer to keep a pasta sauce with chunky vegetables to add nutrition to the meal. You can go with your preference.

Tomato Garlic Prawns Risotto
Serves 4-5

3 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small brown onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
1/2 cup finely grated parmesan
20-22 frozen prawns
salt and pepper, to taste
a handful of fresh basil and parsley leaves

Place stock, pasta sauce and 2 cups cold water in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 6 to 7 minutes or until mixture starts to simmer.

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a large pan. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until softened. Add rice. Cook, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes or until rice is coated. Add 1/3 cup stock mixture. Cook, stirring until stock has absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock, 1/3 cup at a time, until liquid has absorbed and rice is tender.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and add the prawns. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.

Add prawns to the rice. Stir to mix. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in 1/4 cup of the parmesan. Top with basil, parsley and remaining parmesan. Serve.

Garlic and Chilli Prawn Spaghetti

8|12|2013

I could eat cookies for all meals and still have an appetite for more. But in a house full of boys that may not be the ideal scenario. They are on the look out for ‘real food’ and sadly cookies don’t fit into that category. So a tiny little break from Cookies!

By now, you already know how much we love noodles and such things. Whether in Asian recipes or in its Italian form…noodles/pasta are a staple in our house. Though personally I prefer the fettuccine or pappardelle over spaghetti, it is the most obvious choice for kids. So we have a kid friendly version of this recipe minus the chillies and really hot one with lots of dry chilli flakes for the adults.

This is again a recipe that is ready under 15 minutes and yet filling and full of flavour. And this dish just confirm the fact that you don’t need a lot of ingredients to come up with a tasty meal. Substitute the prawns with your favourite meat if you want to and adjust the heat to your liking. You could use fresh red chillies too. I like to add dried chilli flakes for texture and I find it easier to include it in a meal at the last-minute.

Garlic and Chilli Prawn Spaghetti
(adapted with variation from Donna Hay, Fast, Fresh, Simple)
Serves 2-3

200g spaghetti, angel hair or linguine
1tbsp butter
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
10-15 small uncooked prawns (fresh or frozen), cleaned
1 tbsp. lemon juice (optional)
2 tbsp. tomato puree or passata
a few flat leaf parsley leaves, roughly torn
salt and cracked pepper for seasoning

Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling water for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and keep warm.

While the pasta is cooking, heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and olive oil and cook until butter has melted. Add the garlic and chilli and cook for two minutes. Add the prawns and cook, stirring for 3 minutes or until prawns are tender. Add the tomato puree, pasta, lemon juice, salt and pepper to the pan and toss to combine. Serve warm.